ingredient

American  

[in-gree-dee-uhnt] / ɪnˈgri di ənt /

noun

• ingredients
  plural

1. something that enters as an element into a mixture.

   Flour, eggs, and sugar are the main ingredients in the cake.

2. a constituent element of anything; component.

   the ingredients of political success.

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ingredient British  

/ ɪnˈɡriːdɪənt /

noun

1. a component of a mixture, compound, etc, esp in cooking

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Synonym Usage

See element.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ingredients
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ingredient

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English from Latin ingredient- (stem of ingrediēns ), present participle of ingredī “to go or step into, commence,” equivalent to in- in- ² + -gredient- “going”; see gradient

Explanation

An ingredient is one part of a mixture. For example, if you're making chocolate chip cookies, flour is just one ingredient you'll need. Ingredient comes from the Latin word ingredientem, meaning "that which enters into." It's not just for cookies. If you're in the lab mixing a chemical compound, you carefully add one ingredient after the next and record the results (and hope nothing blows up). It's also an element or factor of something, such as how that song you wrote has all the ingredients to be a sure-fire hit! Remember that it ends in -ent, since often what you Eat has ingrediEnts.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ingredient ingredients

One important ingredient was TGF-b, transforming growth factor beta.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

He has told franchisees and investors that the company has shortchanged ingredient quality for cost savings, that service has become uneven and that Wendy’s depends too much on deals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

A core ingredient of the concept is co-living, where qualified residents over age 50 have their own rooms with private baths and share a kitchen and living space with other residents of their “neighborhood.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Most common by far is injecting the gel-like substance hyaluronic acid - the same key ingredient used in lip fillers.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

“Only the key ingredient in my favorite candy bar,” he answered.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

Apparently, for the foreseeable future, these three ingredients were going to be spending a great deal of time together in my kitchen.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

Among the missing ingredients is liquid water, which generally depends on the presence of an atmosphere and moderate temperatures.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

At Fountain Grains & Greens, the owners’ dedication to using local, carefully sourced ingredients also make it difficult to meet the increased demand for protein.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Customers of companies like Marley Spoon and Blue Apron are venting on social media, stopping orders and demanding refunds over problems including missing ingredients, nearly empty boxes or no delivery at all.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

While Sara and I put ingredients into our saucepan, I lead into my question.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Related Words

• additive
• element
• factor
• piece